Many photoresist strippers and residue removers have been proposed for use in the microelectronics field as downstream or back end of the manufacturing line cleaners. In the manufacturing process a thin film of photoresist is deposited on a wafer substrate, and then circuit design is imaged on the thin film. Following baking, the unpolymerized resist is removed with a photoresist developer. The resulting image is then transferred to the underlying material, which is generally a dielectric or metal, by way of reactive plasma etch gases or chemical etchant solutions. The etchant gases or chemical etchant solutions selectively attack the photoresist-unprotected area of the substrate. As a result of the plasma etching process, photoresist, etching gas and etched material by-products are deposited as residues around or on the sidewall of the etched openings on the substrate.
Additionally, following the termination of the etching step, the resist mask must be removed from the protected area of the wafer so that the final finishing operation can take place. This can be accomplished in a plasma ashing step by the use of suitable plasma ashing gases or wet chemical strippers. Finding a suitable cleaning composition for removal of this resist mask material without adversely affecting, e.g., corroding, dissolving or dulling, the metal circuitry has also proven problematic.
As microelectronic fabrication integration levels have increased and patterned microelectronic device dimensions have decreased, it has become increasingly common in the art to employ copper metallizations, low-κ and high-κ dielectrics. These materials have presented additional challenges to find acceptable cleaner compositions. Many process technology compositions that have been previously developed for “traditional” or “conventional” semiconductor devices containing Al/SiO2 or Al(Cu)/SiO2 structures cannot be employed with copper, tungsten, tantalum, nickel, gold, cobalt, palladium, platinum, chromium, ruthenium, rhodium, iridium, hafnium, titanium, molybdenum, tin and other metallized, and low-κ or high-κ dielectric structures. For example, hydroxylamine based stripper or residue remover compositions are successfully used for cleaning devices with Al metallizations, but are practically unsuitable for those with copper and other metallizations. Similarly, many copper metallized/low-κ strippers are not suitable for Al metallized devices unless significant adjustments in the compositions are made.
Removal of these etch and/or ash residues following the plasma etch and/or ashing process has proved problematic. Failure to completely remove or neutralize these residues can result in the absorption of moisture and the formation of undesirable materials that can cause corrosion to the metal structures. The circuitry materials are corroded by the undesirable materials and produce discontinuances in the circuitry wiring and undesirable increases in electrical resistance.
The current back end cleaners show a wide range of compatibility with certain, sensitive dielectrics and metallizations, ranging from totally unacceptable to marginally satisfactory. Many of the current strippers or residue cleaners are not acceptable for advanced interconnect materials such as porous and IOW-κ dielectrics and copper metallizations. Additionally, the typical alkaline cleaning solutions employed are overly aggressive towards porous and low-κ and high-κ dielectrics and/or copper metallizations. Moreover, many of these alkaline cleaning compositions contain organic solvents that show poor product stability, especially at higher pH ranges and at higher process temperatures.
Heretofore, oxidizers have been used in cleaning compositions in primarily aqueous form. Oxidizers, such as the commonly used hydrogen peroxide and peracids, are known to react readily or decompose easily, especially in organic solvent matrices that have been generally employed in stripping compositions. In such instances the oxidizing agent is consumed and becomes unavailable for its intended use. Additionally, microelectronic cleaning compositions containing oxidizers often show poor product stability, especially in the presence of significant amounts of 10 wt % or more of organic solvents, and at higher pH ranges and high process temperatures. Furthermore, in many compositions the use of stabilizers and solvents often tie up the oxidizing agent resulting in diminished capabilities of performing effective oxidation/reduction reactions employed in the cleaning process. In U.S. Pat. No. 6,116,254 the inventors teach introducing chlorine gas into pure water in a tank to thereby generate chloride ions, hypochlorite ions, chlorite ions and chlorate ions in the pure water and, then immersing a substrate in the pure water solution for cleaning. Such a cleaning scheme is not well controlled or stable over a period of days and is certainly not environmentally friendly and has toxic properties. Additionally, the amount of dissolved chlorine is limited to no more than 0.3% due to the limitation of the amount of chlorine gas dissolvable in the water. Furthermore, the pure water solutions with dissolved chlorine gas is always an acidic mixture and, thus, not usable in situations where an alkaline cleaning solution is desired or required. Moreover, such a cleaning solution is not a preformed product capable of being packaged and transported for use at a site remote from its production. Also, the patentees state that it is sometimes necessary to screen the irradiation of visible and/or UV light to the pure water solution containing the dissolved chlorine gas in order to prevent decomposition from occurring. The pure water solution containing the dissolved chlorine gas is also temperature sensitive and is generally kept at a temperature of 10° C. while being generated and until ready for use. All of the drawbacks make this cleaning system not very desirable and severely limits its use.